Material folding machine



MATERIAL FOLDING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 18, 1951 ATTORNEY April 1952 a. A. ANDERSON ETAL 2,593,085

' MATERIAL FOLDING MACHINE Filed Jan. "18, 1951 8 Sheets-Sheet 2- I BY MRQW ATTORNEY April 15, 1952 e. A. ANDERSQN ETAL 2,593,035

MATERIAL FOLDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 18, 1951 8 Sheets-Sheet 5- ATTORNEY April 15, 1952 G. A. ANDERSON ETAL 2,593,085

MATERIAL FOLDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 18, 1951 v s Sheets-Sheet 4 7v WING 5 777770 IZMRQL.

ATTORNEY April 15, 1952 G. A. ANDERSON ETAL 2,593,085

. MATERIAL FOLDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 18, 1951' s Sheets-Sheet 5 April 1952 e. A. ANDERSON ETAL 2,593,085

MATERIAL FOLDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 18, 1951 s Sheets-Sheet e I I -r-|--- l I INVENTOR5 QMRQM ATTORNEY April 1952 a. A. ANDERSON ETAL 2,593,085

MATERIAL FOLDING MACHINE Filed Jari. 18, 1951 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTORS 067F456 law m/VE, I 61/67294 5 7. flzvofnsozv,

ATTORNEY April 15, 1952 e. A. ANDERSON ETAL,

MATERIAL FGLDING MACHINE 's Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Jan. l8 1951 lNVENTOR'- IDE K/7/VE,

ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 15, 1952 umrsio: PATENT OFFICE MATERIALEOLDING MACHINE Gustave A.- Anderson; New York, and Charles'lde Kane,-Ry,e;iN.'iYgassignors to The International Handkerchief:Manufacturing Company; Long Island (Jitykltlr'ili. a. corporation of New York Application January'18, 1951, Serial No. 206,626

I 8: Claims.

This: invention relates: tostructure for: folding; sheet material; such as in forming a hement invention constitutes an improvement inthemachines: shown in: these, patents, but much of the" structure and operation is the same.

Throughout the specification, reference" will be madetdthatwhich is old structure and it is to be understood: that such reference is to the patentsmentioned;above.

The old method of folding the hem is shown in Patent No; 2,053,257. By'the" old" method, the

hem is-"formedvin successive stages'asthe fabric blank advances toward thesewingmachine. We have found it to" be impracticable to make a narrow: hem with" the old hemming method, as

the-:amount of turn-in was so small that the edge of the blank hada tendency to slip out of thefol'ding'mechanism; thusproducing an excessiveramount' of damage and resulting in a waste oftime" and material. 1

In the new device the" complete hem is formed as soon as the handkerchief blank has been cut fromrthe fabric web, thus insuring a hem with an exactflturnein, along theeentire width of the handkerchief blank. before ituis advanced to the sewing. machine. (The turnh-in of. a: hemmed handkerchief is thatlportion;v of the. cloth. which turns: in.1-.0rvfolds-;back. along.v the upper layer of' the;.hem,,,forming aloop.)

isaan-iobjectof;our invention to provide apg itudinally extending. slottherein, meansfor ad:

vancing; the fabric-tocthe hem. folding position wl iere v the"; end: portion of the fabriczoverlies the SlOtri-Il .said:;bar. with. the: edge: being; substantially paralleltos thelongitudinal. axis; of: the ban re-. leasable'. means holding said: fabrioin the overlying position; means for by, means for-rotating said .barto draw the. fabric around the ban thereby forming: a; second? loop which completes-'thefol'dingz'of the; heny and means for advancing the fabric: to. the next work station, which maybe a hemisewingzstationar Another object of our inventionjsz'to; provide a hem folding bar having two intersecting slots extending longitudinally along the length-.Qf-ther bar, the first of the'slots. beings-adapted to;. c ooperate with a straight:edgetozformthe: foldrande thesecond of the slots being adaptedrto cooper ate with moving-gripper feet which advance-=thefolded fabric to. the sewingstation.

Another object of our: invention; is; to provide a bearing for one end ofthe hem forming; ban; which bearing" is swingableg, from; its; supporting;

position to a .position; which is-clear of;the--.grippers which advance the fabric webto; theehemming apparatus.

Another; object of our inventionis-to. provide an extension on the bearing. for: the-hem. forming. bar to form. a" support for the: fabric vblanlewhenit is being removed from the hemforming barrtor the sewing station or. other followingstation.-.

Another object of our' invention is toprovidm clamping means which will hold a. fabricweb. firmly against hem forming bars while the blank is being'measured' and while it is-being cut Another. object of our inventionis to provide. a. device for-folding a-fabric to-form a-hem,,com prising a hem forming bar having alongitudivnally extending: slot therein andpositioned to receive the; fabric-with. an; end portion: thereof overlyingthe slot, means for depressing the endportion of said' fabric intothe slotinmini bar to form a loop therein, and means forrotating; said bar to draw the fabric. around the bar and thereby to form a second loop which completesv the folding of the hem.

These and other objects will become. more apparent from the following; description. and. claims when. read in conjunction. with accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevationalrview ofatheapparatuis embodying the invention; 7

Fig.2 is an end elevational view looking. from the left side. of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is. a side elevational viewsimilar to l, but showing only the upper portion of the apparatus;

- Fig. 4 is an end view similari to. Fig; 2,, but. show ing only the upper. portion of) the apparatus, as

' viewed from the left of 3';

depressingsaid '1. fabric into the slot in said bar and forming zadoopithenei- Fig. '5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the lower left hand portion of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an end elevational view of the lower left hand portion of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the hem forming bar;

Fig. 8 is an *end elevational view of the bar shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view taken on line Ill-l of Fig. "I;

Fig. 11 is a cross sectional view taken on line lI-ll of Fig. '7;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary view showing details of the folding mechanism;

Fig. 13 is a detail end view of one of the hem forming bars showing a fabric loop formed there- Fig. 14 is a detail side view of the hem forming bar showing the engagement therewith of the gripper feet;

Fig. 15 is a view looking from the left side of Fig. 14 as indicated by line l-l5;

Fig. 16 is a cross sectional view taken along lines iii-l6 of Fig. 14;

Fig. 1''! is a detail side view of the bearing of the hem forming bar; and

'Fig. 18 is an end view of the bearing shown in Fig. 17.

Referring now to Figs. 1 through 6, the machine is shown supported by frame 3|. slidably mounted on a guide 32 carried by the frame are grippers 32 which receive the web 33 from the right in Fig. 2 and move it to the left, lengthwise of the machine, to draw it to a hem folding position over the hem forming bars 35, 35', shown in the two extreme positions that they occupy. The grippers 32 may be operated in a number of different ways, one method being that shown in Patent 2,053,257.

The grippers 32,, which are normally closed, are opened by gripper actuators 34 which are in turn operated by the cam and lever system shown in Patent 2,053,257.

The web is held to hem forming bars 35, 35' by clamps 35 (Fig. 3) which are rotatably mounted on the frame by bar 31 (Fig. 4) The clamps 36 are actuated through levers 38, 39, gears 43,

levers 4|, 42, and cam mechanism 43 (Figs. 1, 2

and 3). The web is also held to platform 44 by clamp 45 while it is being cut by rotating knife 46 (Fig. 5).

The hem forming bars 35, 35' are rotatably mounted on the frame by brackets 41 (Fig. 4).

In the preferred embodiment which is shown in these drawings, the two hem forming bars 35 and 35' are positioned in parallel spaced relation and are connected to a rack 48 (Fig. 3) by their respective gear trains 49, 50, 5! in such a manner as to be rotated simultaneously and in opposite directions when rack 43 is moved transversely as viewed in Fig. 3.

Bars 35 and 35 are supported by bearings 52 at their ends remote from bracket 41. Bearings 52 (Figs. 14, 1'7 and 18) are swingably supported by rod 53 through arms 54 (Fig. 4) The rod 53 is rotatably mounted and when rotated, causes bearings 52 to swing outwardly (to the left in Fig. 4) from their normal supporting positions engaging hem forming bars 35 and 35' by cam mechanism 55 (Figs. 1 and 2) through lever arms '56 and 53. Bearings 52 are thus swingably mounted in order to permit, without obstruction, the longitudinal movement of web grippers 32.

When the web is in position across bars 35, 35', the blank to be cut by knife 46 is measured by arms 59 which hold rod 69 and move it against web 33. The operation of slack bar 60 is shown in my patents referred to above. At this point the folding operation, to be described later, takes place and the hem is formed.

After the hem is formed in the blank, the blank is removed from the hem forming bars and advanced to the next work station, which may be a sewing station (not shown) by fabric engaging means such as gripper feet 6! (Figs. 2, 4 and 14). The gripper feet are mounted on a chain 62 which passes around and is guided by sprocket 63. Sprocket 63 is rotated by a belt and pulley arrangement (also not shown). This gripper feet arrangement and the drive means therefor are old structure shown in previous patents.

Extension 64 mounted on bearing 52 (to be described in more complete detail below) provides a bridge for supporting the blank as it moves from the hem forming bars 35, 35' to platform 65 which leads to the sewing station (Fig. 4).

Hem forming bar Figs. 7-11 show hem forming bar 35 in detail. Bar 35 has a cylindrical end portion 66 by'which one end is supported by frame 3|. The main part of the bar has as its outer configuration a cylindrical surface 61 and two flat surfaces 68 and 69 which intersect at approximately a right angle. From surface 69 a slot 10 extends inwardly to approximately the center of the bar and extends longitudinally almost the whole length of the main part of the bar. It is in slot 10 that the first fold, or turn-in of the hem is formed.

A second slot H extends inwardly from surface 68 and intersects slot 13. The slot H is offset slightly from the center of the bar. It is through slot II that gripper feet 6| engage the folded fabric, and therefore it is necessary for the slot to extend only a portion of the length of the main part of the bar. End portion or extension 12 located at the end of the bar remote from cylindrical end portion 66, is adapted to engage bearing 52 to receive support therefrom. End portion T2 has two inwardly extending flat surfaces 13 and I4, each of which constitutes a continuation of the two facing surfaces H and 'Hl of slots 10 and H, as best seen in Fig. 7.

Bearing and bridge extension In Figs. 6 and 14 through 18 the bearing 52 and its bridge extension 64 are shown. As previously explained, each bearing 52 (there being one for each bar 35, 35') is carried by an arm 54, and the lower portion of part 52 extends trans versely of the arm 54. This lower portion of part 52 has a downwardly extending hook-like portion 52 which terminates in a horizontalflat surface 18. The interior surface of portion 52 is cylindrical and dimensioned for snugly but slidably receiving reduced end portion 12 of the corresponding bar 35 or 35'.

The bridge extension 64 extends sideways from part 52 and is generally L-shaped in cross section, the upwardly facing surface of which is denoted by reference numeral I8 and which forms a continuation of surface T8 of the hook shaped part 52 When the bearing 52 is in its supporting position with extension 12 of the hem forming bar 35 located in the hook shaped portion 52, surface-18 forms a continuation of surface 13 on the extension 12 of the hem forming l l, 3 and 5) of the drawings.

"bar. Sur face 79o'f-"s1ot form 65 also r forms. a continuation o'fthe surface 118.

.jjFoZdiny operation ".The folding zoperation'sis :sho-wn rin:Fi gs..12, 1'13 -and;.15. :After theiweb. ghaszbeen drawn across hem;formingiloars 135, .35. by grippers 32,;slack .1barz60 (Fig. 3) :'.trave1s downwardly, measuring Ltha lengthror the handkerchief. .blank .and. creating'slackintheiweb. Then .we'bclamps536 ,move

down intoengagement with the web, .holding the web :securely :against :hem forming bars:v :35, 6:35. Theweb-clamps:Strengagasurfaces 6910f the hem "forming bars,:1but.=-remain. clearuof. slots '19 so that these slots are notobstructed (Fig. 12)..

Knife 46 then cuts a blank from the Web.

-Wh'en lamps 36 .Ehold the blank securely, loop forming blades 15 '.move downward, depressing the: cut edges of the. blank into' slots :of the hem forming' bars 35, I 35, to cause a lfirst' loop,

ortturn -in, 16 -170 be formed in the blank. The loop "fo-rming blades are fixed to rods' 85 (Figs.

4,35, and-'6) which areslidably mountedin bearr ings- 86 attached to the-irame 3 I. The. .move- "mentor .blades is caused by links tl joined to 'levers =88 which Iiare operated by gears 89 through a connecting shaft (Figs. 1 and-6 The gears 89 1 are rotated by lever 3 ll through arml'lfl I linkage92,- 3 and 19d. Follower 95 is actuated by the cam arrangement shown zit-43. This loop ifi is the turn required to make a finished hem. The blank'is now'in the positionshown in Fig. 13.

Clamps- 8 .move -up-ward and the -loop is held in :the slots by the frictional engagement of-theloop with-the sides of the slot.

The hem forming-bars 35, nowrotate of a revo'ldtion in opposite directions"respectively "thus-forming a complete hem as shown in Fig. 15.

. Qperatz'onlog the gripper ,feet

I After the folding of the he!!! is completed,

gripper ieet fil are moved into slot Il andpress loop .16. against the'walrfifl o-fslotlll. The grip- ..p'er feetSl advance the'blank 33 along-slot 'H zacross bridgesfi l and onto platform fidfrom-which it'is advanced to the sewing station. Ovehclloperctionoj the foldingofthe-hem "Having ;now described the preferred embodim'ent of "our invention the *following is a brief "description of, the :overall operation otrthemachine.

'Before the hem folding operation performed by the apparatus of the present invention isbegun, the longitudinal edges of the web have already beenformed with. a hem. Bearings 52 have been'swungioutwardly'irom their supporting positions on hen-liorming bars35, 35. Web grippers 32 pick up the web at the position to the left of the machine as viewed in the side views (Figs. The grippers 32 draw the web 33 toward the right side-of the machineand across hem forming bars 35, 35' so as to cover slots Til. Bearings 52 swingdown,

engaging extensions 72 of the hem forminghars. [The slack bar "66 then measures the length of the blankand creates the slacklin the web. Web

clamps'tfi' hold the web against the hem forming bar. Knife 35 cuts the blank from the web.

Then loop forming blades 75 move down into slot lil, pressing the edges of the blank into the slot i0 and thus forming the first loop. The clamps 35 then move upwardly. The hem forming bars rotate of a revolution as shown in Fig. 13, forming the second loop Tl. Gripper feet GI invention, it should ;be"well understoodithat :we

donot wish-t0 be'limited theretoas there might be changes made "in vthe arrangement, disposi tionandform of theparts without thedeparting from .the .inventive conceptxas expressed? by the accompanying claims. We also Wish .-it;..t -:be understood that the :invention is. applicabletoithe folding of othersheet material besides handkerchief material, and the advancingof such material from the folding apparatus.

'We claim:

1. Ina machine for folding materialtoform a.hem,:.the combination of at leastonerotatable hem forming bar, said bar having at "least one longitudinally extending s'slot. therein, means for advancingfthe material in a direction transverse to thelength of said bar to :hem foldingpo'sition with the end portion of the material overlying and extending slightly beyondtheslotLinsaid bar and with an edge of the material-substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the-bar,- releasable means for holding said fabric in the overlying position against said bar, means :00- operable with said slot for depressing the material into the slot in said bar to form aloop in the material, means for rotating said bar to draw the material around the barand thereby to form a secondloop in the material whichcomple'testhe 'folding of the hem, and means movablelongitudinally of said bar and cooperating with said bar for moving said hemmed material-from the bar.

--2. In a machine for folding material to form a hem, thecombinat-ion of at least-one rotatable bar, having at least one longitudinally extending slot therein, meansfor advancing the material in a direction transverse to the length of said bar to a folding position with an edge portion of the material-overlying and extending slightly beyond the slot in said bar, means cooperable with said slot for pressing said material 'into the slot in'said'bar to form a loop in the-material, means for rotating'said'bar todraw the material around and form 'a second loop which completes the folding' of the hem, and means movable'longitudinally ofsaid-bar and cooperating with said barfor moving said hemmed materia'l o'fi-offth'e bar.

3. In a machine for folding material to form'a hem, the combination of at leastone rotatable bar having at least one longitudinally extending slot therein, supporting means for thebar inbidding swingably mounted bearing means located at-one end of said bar when in normajh-supporting position, means normally lying clear 'of said bearing meansand 'movable throughthe normal position of said swingable bearing means for advancing the material in a direction transverse to the length of said bar to a holding position with an edge portion of the material overlying and extending slightly beyond the slot in said bar, means for swinging said bearing away from said bar to a position clear of the path of said advancing means and for subsequently returning said bearing to normal supporting position after return of said advancing means to its normal position, means cooperable with said slot for pressingsaid material into the slot in said bar to form a loop in the material, and means for rotating said bar to draw the material around the bar and form a second loop in the material which completes the folding of the hem.

4. In a machine for folding a fabric to form a hem, and advancing said folded fabric to a subsequent work station the combination of at least one rotatable hem forming bar, said bar having two longitudinally extending, intersecting slots therein, said bar being positioned to receive the fabric with an end portion thereof overlying and extending slightly beyond the slot, means cooperable with said slot for depressing an end portion adjacent a free edge of said fabric into the slot to form a first loop therein, means for rotating said bar so that said first loop in the slot moves in a direction to wrap the fabric about the free edge and to draw the fabric around the bar thereby forming a second loop which completes the forming of the hem, fabric engaging means slidable in the second of said slots in frictional engagement with the first loop in said fabric, and means for movin said fabric engaging means in a direction longitudinally of said bar to remove said hemmed fabric from said bar to the next work station.

5. In a machine for forming hems in the edges of fabric blanks cut from a long fabric web, the combination of at least two rotatable hem forming bars in parallel spaced relation, each of said bars having at least one longitudinally extending slot formed therein, means for advancing the web in a direction transverse to the length of said bars to a hem folding position where a portion of the web comprising a blank lies across the bars and spans the space between said bars with the free end extending slightly beyond the second of said bars, releasable means holding said web across said bars, cutting means located near the first of said bars and on the side of said first bar remote from said second bar to out said blank from the web leaving the cut edge of said blank extending slightly beyond said first bar, means cooperable with the slots in said bars for depressing the bar overlying portions of said blank into the slots in said bars to form loops therein, means for rotating said bars to draw said fabric around said bars thereby forming second loops which completes the folding of the hems, and-means movable longitudinally of said bar and cooperating with said bar for moving said hemmed blank off the bars to the next work station.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said bar rotating means comprises a reciprocating rack drivably connected to pinion means mounted on said bars.

'7. In a machine for forming a hem in the edges of a fabric blank cut from a long fabric web, the combination of at least two rotatable hem forming bars in parallel spaced relation, each of said 6 bars having at least one longitudinally extending slot formed therein, means for advancing the web to a hem folding position where the web lies across both of said bars, means for simultaneously measuring the length of a blank and creating slack in the web between said bars, cutting means to cut the blank from said web, leavingthe cut end portions of said blank extending a predetermined length beyond said bars, means cooperable with the slots in said bars for depressing the end portions of said blank into the slots in said bars forming hem loops therein, means for rotating said bars to draw said fabric around said bars thereby forming second loops which completes the folding of the hems in each of said end portions, and means movable longitudinally of said bar and cooperating with said bar for advancing said hemmed blank to the next work sta tion.

8. In a machine for folding a fabric to form a hem and for advancing the fabric to the next work station, the combination of at least one rotatable hem forming bar, said bar having at least two longitudinally directed slots therein, said slots intersecting each other substantially perpendicularly and with the first of said slots ex- .tending inwardly beyond the location of the intersection with the second of said slots, a swingably mounted bearing supporting the other end of said bar, means movable through the normal supporting position of said bearing for advancing the fabric to a hem folding position where the end portion of the fabric overlies the first of the slots in said bar with the edge of the fabric being substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said bar and extending slightly beyond said bar, means for swinging said bearing away from said bar to a position clear of the path of travel of said advancing means and for returning said bearing to supporting position after said advancing means is clear of said bearing, means for temporarily holding said fabric in the overlying position, means cooperable with said first slot for depressing said fabric into the first slot in said bar to form a first loop in the fabric, means for rotating said bar to draw the fabric around the bar thereby forming a second loop which completes the forming of the hem, gripper feet adapted to slide in the second of said slots and to frictionally engage the first loop in said fabric, means for moving said gripper feet in a direction longitudinally of said bar toward said bearing means to remove said folded fabric from said bar to the next work station, and a platform mounted on said bearing so that it forms a continuation of said bar when said bearing is in supporting position, and forms a bridge-like support for said folded fabric as it is advanced from said bar.

GUSTAVE A. ANDERSON.

CHARLES IDE KANE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,302,421 Okihara Apr. 29, 1919 1,773,618 Gearhart Aug. 19, 1930 2,053,257 Anderson Sept. 8, 1936 

